1179 Dream Bike Build Random Updates

Today I watched (or more correctly, listened to) a Youtube video from Bike Radar about optimum stem angles to use for a road bike. TL;DW a higher stem angle needed less watts to maintain a certain speed.

I think it is time to update my dream bike build. As always my frame set is the Ritchey Logic Outback Breakaway Medium size.

• Redshift Sports ShockStop Suspension System for the seat post and stem. For the stem it will be the 30º x 100mm stem. Seatpost is whatever will fit on the frame set.
• Salsa Cowchipper 38mm handlebar. I used to want the Coefficient AR (All Road) carbon handlebar, but I did realize that I'm getting older and I'd rather have a nice, safe ride than a faster paced ride. Not that I still ride.
• Ritchey Comp Cabrillo saddle. Again, I have no idea about saddles so I guess one from Ritchey will be fine.
• Microshift Sword 1x10 groupset. As usual being the contrarian I am I would rather have the Microshift Sword groupset than the usual Shimano and SRAM gravel groupsets. I'm hoping these are more affordable (even if this is a dream bike build) and hopefully this is enough for me to actually enjoy the bike. Other details for the groupset is a 165mm 42T Sword crankset and an 11-42 H-Series 10-speed cassette. Yes, my easiest gearing will be 1:1.
• Growtac EQUAL brake calipers. From what little I know, these calipers offer pretty great stopping power considering they're not hydraulic or hybrid. These calipers behave like hydraulic brake calipers in the sense that both pads press on the brake disc instead of the usual mechanical brake calipers that only have one pad press down.
• Shimano PD-ME7000 SPD pedals. Doing my basic internet research shows me that Shimano clipless pedals are better than Crank Brothers. So why am I even considering clipless pedals when I want a relaxed ride? My answer would be, for the times I would want to go serious, of course. This choice also lets me get the next entry.
• adidas Velosamba bicycle shoes. Reviews I've read and watched all say this pair is only good for commuting, and not for mountain bike or more serious riding. Seems like the best pair for me.
• Mavic All Road Disc wheelset. 700c rims with an internal rim width of 23mm and tubeless ready. I still don't know enough about wheels so I'd like a decent and durable set of wheels. None of that carbon fiber stuff.
• Panaracer Gravel King X1 R tan sidewall tires. I'm a sucker for Panaracers, specially the tan sidewalls. I'm not getting the SS for the simple reason that I'd rather have knobbly tires in the event I do need to go to non-tarmac terrain.

That's it. I don't want to list down all the accessories I'd want, but the sure ones are a dynamo hub, front and rear lights, and mud guards.

Out.

1178 Death

Yesterday I found out that one of my college teachers passed away, I think on Saturday evening. He died of a heart attack after playing a few games of basketball. He was my age.

Now before you start thinking how I can have a teacher that's the same age, that's a story for another blog post.

This teacher of mine was someone I considered a friend, so the news did hit me a bit hard. It was also a reminder to me that life is fleeting, and you have to make the most out of what time you have here. Aside from this you also need to have a good perspective on life so that no matter when  your time comes you will at least have had a life that you were grateful for.

Rest in peace, sir Mark. It was a pleasure to have been your student and your friend.

Out.

1177 Tired

Today is probably one of the times I've really felt tired, and that is interesting. I jogged from Monday until Wednesday and decided to give myself a rest day today.

I guess it's work that got me tired. I'm not complaining. It has been a very productive day, week even. Yet I still don't understand why I'm this kind of tired.

It isn't the satisfied feeling I get on typical productive and busy days or weeks. Hopefully I can get a decent night's sleep tonight, or else I probably won't jog tomorrow.

Out.

1176 Kei Vans

I have no idea why I'm getting interested in Japanese kei vans again. It's really confusing when I read about reports of the government cracking down on Japanese surplus vehicles being shipped in while at the same time seeing more and more videos of converted kei vans being sold to buyers almost everywhere in the Philippines.

This youtuber in Japan had a video where he added blow off valves to his DA64 Suzuki Every. ANd while originally the Suzuki Every I most wanted was the DA17 auto-gear shift, I think now I'm starting to lean on the automatic variant that has a turbo.

So, why a turbo? I was thinking how it would drive in the highways here. While top speed is 100 kmh I'm hoping a turbo will make the Every accelerate a bit faster and hopefully be a bit more fun to drive.

Amusing words coming from someone who says he is a slow driver. Imagine it though, a tiny kei van that has a blow-off valve and an improved turbo and exhaust system.

Out.

1175 Bad Weekend

It was indeed a relatively bad weekend. Most of the progress I had sort of crumbled as I reverted to bad habits and bad thinking.

Let's just say I was supposed to go somewhere this weekend but higher priority things happened so I had to cancel my plans. I was bummed out, naturally, but I didn't know I would be this bummed out. On the bright side I've been catching myself a lot of times and trying to control myself.

So tomorrow is the start of a new week and I know I can rebound from this.

Out.

1174: Our 2024 Toyota Wigo G

It's been a year and a few days since we acquired our Toyota Wigo G.

I'll admit there are days when I sort of regret sticking to my budget and not dipping a bit more into savings to get the Toyota Raize 1.2 E CVT instead of the Wigo. However the price of the Raize at the time was way over the budget I had set myself.

So why am I having occasional second thoughts? Well the simplest answer is the height. The Wigo is a car, and the ground clearance is around 160mm so it is a low car. The Raize is taller and has 200mm (I think) ground clearance. Aside from this, since the Raize is a bit longer you have bigger trunk space.

The height only concerns me mainly when it rains really hard for a long time. When flash flooding happens in Metro Manila, and believe me it happens, I get worried. Fortunately so far none of our routes are affected by floods. Or we can find alternate routes that are relatively free of flash floods.

Anyway back to our Wigo. I guess my plan now is to use this car for its strengths. Those are fuel efficiency, practicality, and size.

Fuel efficiency is still great. Lately it's been getting below 9km/L consumption but that's because traffic has been bad since school started for my daughter. It's still not as demoralizing as the 5 to 6km/L of the Rav4 so I'm still not that annoyed. Just irritated. Last school year consumption was around 9 to 10km/L, but for context the traffic now to drop off and fetch my daughter is way, way worse than last school year.

Practicality. The Wigo is still an excellent city car and daily driver. It has ample space for the usual stuff you need to bring to work or to school. The air conditioner is decently cold. Space is also relatively good for three to four people.

Size. Because of the relatively smaller size of the Wigo I never have to worry about being able to enter or exit the car in parking areas. I will have ample space to park and not worry about me accidentally dinging the car beside me (though I do worry about the cars beside the Wigo dinging us since there are a lot of inconsiderate people out there).

There are some issues now that I'm seeing with the Wigo, but hopefully these can be avoided. Here are some of them.

No front windshield vent defogger and no rear electric defogger. We encountered this issue one time when it was raining hard and the front and rear windshield fogged up. I had to wipe the front windshield inside to remove the fogging just to see.

I shouldn't have added a tint. Backing up and maneuvering is a bitch during heavy rains and dark skies. Or even in dark places. I had a hard time seeing the side mirrors and had to open my windows to get a better view. During rains this sucks since the interior gets wet.

Speaking or rain, I am seriously considering getting rain visors for the windows so we can crack it open during rainy days and hopefully address fogging issues, or open the window enough that we can see the side mirrors with minimal rain pouring in. My only issue with rain visors is that you have to stick them on to the doors, or at least the ones available in Shopee.

Then there's my issue with the (literal) horn. Yes, there's only one high-pitched horn installed in the car. I have the one high-pitched horn that was installed in my dad's Raize but I'd rather get a better set that's louder and more aggressive so it can be heard better.

Overall I'm still happy with the Wigo and I feel that this is a great first car for my wife to get used to driving in. It's still a fuel efficient and practical car and with some upgrades I feel quality of life will be improved.

Out.

1173 Biking

If things go as planned I will hopefully spend a few days in a province going cycling with a friend of mine. We had been planning this since around 2022, and things never really went forward.

Fortunately now things appear to be moving forward so we shall see what happens and hopefully everything pushes through. We won't be going on off road trails, as far as I know, and also because I've switched my wheels to inner tubes.

Also my tires and inner tubes are around three to four years old so I have no idea how well they will hold up. As for myself, I'm hoping all my jogging has improved my fitness that I can have enough stamina to ride the relatively longer, and faster, routes we'll be doing in the province.

This just might re-ignite my interest and drive in bicycling.

Out.

1172 August

And just like that, it is already August 1, 2025. More than half of the year has gone by and less than half remains.

It has been a very interesting year for me, if I'm being honest. I opened myself up to new mindsets and perspectives and I've become more active in catching myself from reverting to all the wrong things I used to do.

I'm still a work-in-progress though and I need to keep moving forward. One of the things that I learned from a recent episode of the podcast is to just do it. Stop saying I will do it or that I plan on doing it, and just work on it.

So that's what I'm doing. One step at a time.

Out.